Your inspector will tell you where you need cleanouts but we usually install them on each riser below the trap opening. Using the fixture connection, especially a toilet, is a poor substitute for proper cleanouts. How thick is the gravel? You have to have enough depth to allow the proper pitch on the pipe, and also the required depth below the floor level for the necessary fitting to connect the toilet flange.

: Sorry if I was not clear. I believe all three elbows are "eighth bend (45 degree) elbows.: Between the first one and number 2 is 12" of pipe.: Number two and three are separated by something similar, before the straight run to the main drain, although at that end I know they will have it sweeping to the main cleanout as another 4 inch drain runs to the same cleanout from the other end of the home.

: I was thinking of using fernco couplers for the tie-in as it is under water. I am "assuming" as I have not dug out the gravel in the rest of the trench that I could still slope the pipe mostly above the water which is below the gravel.

: I am still wondering about the cleanouts required for the new pipes? Do I need one for each? One is a two inch drain for shower and sink. The other is three inch drain for toilet. Where to put them.: Or can the drains themselves serve as cleanout outlets? Such as removing toilet to snake that drain in a worse case scenario?

: Thanks!

: : : From your description it appears you have three elbows right together. If they are all 90 degree elbows someone did not do a very good job of installing the system. 12" might not be enough room to install the new connection, but if it is, then there should be no problem with it. If the water table is that high you are going to have a problem keeping the water away while you install and glue the new pipes. It makes no difference what you put around the pipes because soil drainage has nothing to do with the water table level.: : : Great Board!

: : : We've broken concrete and are ready to plumb rough-ins.

: : : After digging out the old concrete and gravel below we found the 3" pipe underwater. We have a high water table and sump pump.

: : : We will be plumbing for a full bath...shower, toilet and sink.

: : : #1: When we pump out the water, will adding sand help with the drainage around the underground pipe? It's clay soil.

: : : #2: The three inch stack goes into the floor at a 45 degree slope. From there an elbow connects it to an approximately 12" piece of pipe lying flat underground before another elbow and short pipe followed by another elbow before the long run to the main drain.

: : : What we'd like to know is if we can use a 3" combination wye with an eighth bend in place of the 12" segment to tie in our new basement plumbing. We can not tap anywhere else in that drain line without chopping a few more feet of concrete. And that's very hard work!

: : : #3: Regarding clean-outs. Would we need to install new clean-outs for the new drain plumbing? Where? The toilet will be about 6 feet from the tie-in. The shower and sink will be joined underground with two inch pipe and tied into the three inch toilet drain with a reducing wye. Would we need to install a clean-out for the two inch pipe as well as the three inch.: : : Or can the drains (shower, toilet, etc) do double duty as cleanouts? The two inch shower drain will run about 6 feet or so from its tie-in downstream to the new three inch toilet drain.